Review of Thea Astley's Fictional Worlds, edited by Susan Sheridan and Paul Genoni

Abstract

This publication offers an overdue acknowledgement of Thea Astley's achievement and a timely appraisal of her reputation as an outstanding Australian fiction writer. The collection acknowledges Astley's appeal to a national audience but also predicts growing interest in her work on the grounds that 'In a globalised world, where the post-colonial condition is widely experienced, her sharp analysis of power will continue to find new and appreciative readers: and her insight into psychological and physical violence involved in the relations between races, sexes and generations will remain universally relevant. Matters of character, community, obligation, fidelity and good faith are raised time and again in her fiction; and they transcend geographic boundaries as effortlessly as they transcend time' (xvii).